By starting a scholar scheme, Lloyds will "build a relationship with some of the best students in the country and the chance to groom prospective employees." Photograph: David Levene

How many universities are involved in the Lloyds Scholars scheme and how many students?

There are two universities – us and the University of Sheffield. We will both have 15 scholars. To begin with, this year we are opening applications to those students entering their second year and those who will be first years in the autumn. From 2012, it will be open only to the new intake.

How did you get involved?

Lloyds approached us which is fabulous. We are continuously approached by prospective employers who want to get closer to our students.

Why did it appeal to you?

At Bristol, we really do want to challenge our students, and one of the key things which attracted us to this scheme was the element of volunteering it contains, as the scholars are expected to volunteer for 100 hours in their local community in return for being selected on the programme. Volunteering is something which we actively encourage here.

Do you think it will only appeal to those students who are interested in a banking career?

No. I think the skills that they will learn are relevant to whatever career they go into.

Scholars on track to gain a First, could receive up to £12,600 over three years. All scholars will also be paid £2,800 for an annual eight-week summer internship with Lloyds. Isn't that appealing?

The financial support is a welcome aspect but is not the drive for us or, I believe, the students. It's not the main motivator.

Scholars have to have a minimum 320 Ucas points and an annual family income of less than £25,000, so will it help Bristol meet its widening participation targets?

That's not the motivator for us. It's all about the extras the students will get, such as volunteering and mentoring. If it supports our widening access and widening participation activities, then that's a positive thing. At Bristol, we are proposing a sliding scale of fees, linked to family income. It ranges from the current tuition fee, up to a maximum £9,000.

How are the scholars chosen?

Lloyds is running quite a rigorous selection process which includes an online application, a phone interview and than an assessment centre. So far, we have been pretty hands off, but this is very much a partnership, and we can input at any time.

What will be your involvement over the three years?

We want to make sure our students are aware of the programme because, when you come to university, there is so much information. But we also want to make sure that students are deciding for themselves whether they apply, as we don't want to push them into any particular direction. If they have any questions, we will give them as much information about it as possible. While we put as many opportunities as possible in front of our students, it's important to us that they are responsible for getting the opportunities themselves. At Bristol, we, as well as the student union, have a huge bank of volunteering opportunities so we can help them with that, but we usually find that our students come here with their own volunteering ideas.

What do you hope the university will gain from being involved?

The key is getting more opportunities for our students to stretch themselves, that is our absolute bottom line, that they make the most of their time here,

What does Lloyds get?

The opportunity to build a relationship with some of the best students in the country and the chance to groom prospective employees, although there is no tie in for the scholars to take up a career with Lloyds – both parties are very clear on that.

And the students?

I think the volunteering side will appeal and also the mentoring on offer from Lloyd's senior executives – a structured mentoring programme is hugely attractive because of the additional skills students will develop for going out into the workplace.

Are there other sponsoring schemes like this one around?

This is a very innovative initiative. The attractive elements for us are the volunteering and the support they get from Lloyds. This isn't something I have seen before – it's new.

Do you think that more commercial sponsorship schemes like this will appear as the sector becomes more competitive and tuition fees rise?

I think with something like this each of the three parties involved – the student, the university and the private sector sponsor – has to benefit. I think that there is scope for schemes like this to grow but each has to be judged on a case by case basis.

David Alder is the University of Bristol's director of marketing and communications

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